The idea for this blog came from my own recent experiences with tendonitis. This swelling of the tendons is a fairly common problem, causing loss of work for more than 70,000 people per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The symptoms include pain, swelling and redness.
Tendonitis can occur in the shoulder, elbow, wrist, legs and hips. For me, the problem is in my wrist, likely aggravated by the repetitive motion that comes with working as a freelance writer. I first noticed the problem after a morning yoga practice and, initially, thought I may have moved the wrong way in an asana, causing an injury.
The problem got worse and I couldn’t practice at all. After a visit to the doctor and a referral to an orthopedic specialist, I was given anti inflammatory medicine and orders to rest the area and apply ice. After I came home and began to research tendonitis, I learned that yoga can actually help prevent a recurrence.
When you are experiencing an acute stage of tendonitis, yoga is not recommended. If you have tendonitis, you know yoga wouldn’t be possible with the pain. However, after the rest and anti inflammatory medicine has done its job, yoga can help prevent future occurrences.
Yoga practice helps tendonitis in a few ways. Regular yoga practice helps improve blood and lymph circulation in the body. This helps prevent inflammation and assists the body in healing itself when the inflammation occurs.
When the pain and inflammation begins to subside, start off with some gentle stretches. The specific asanas that are beneficial will depend on where the tendonitis is located. In general, a good gentle stretch yoga class is a good way to stretch out the tendons and joints and increase circulation to that area.
In yoga, you should always listen to your body during your practice, but this is particularly important with tendonitis. Only stretch and hold poses as far as is comfortable. If you experience pain in any pose, move out of the pose or try a modification that reduces the pain.